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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24832966">Catch of the Nap</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SigmaJump/pseuds/SigmaJump'>SigmaJump</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fishing, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), no beta we die like Glenn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 04:48:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,437</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24832966</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SigmaJump/pseuds/SigmaJump</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>One day Linhardt saunters into the Black Eagles classroom after a relaxing mid-day fishing session on the dock. This time, with a bucket of freshly caught fish.</p><p>The only trouble is: Linhardt didn't catch these. He has a fishing float, but doesn’t actually put any lure on it, so that fish never actually bite, but it still looks like he’s fishing so no one bothers him and he can nap. Yet somehow... he caught fish.</p><p>Or did he...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Linhardt von Hevring/My Unit | Byleth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>52</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Catch of the Nap</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Caspar, I caught fish,” Linhardt walked into the Black Eagles classroom carrying a small thatched basket of said fish, holding it away from him as if he didn’t know what to do with it.</p><p>“Hey, good for you,” Caspar clapped Linhardt on the back as he sat down beside him, looking over his friend’s haul. “This looks pretty good, and I’m proud of you and all, but don’t you usually take these to the kitchen staff?”</p><p>Linhardt looked at Caspar quizzically, “Is that what people do with these?”<br/><br/>Giving a mighty chuckle, Caspar replied, “Yeah. I mean, isn’t that what you always do?” Then he scratched his chin as a rare thought occurred to him. “Come to think of it Lin, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you showing off your catches like this before. What gives?”</p><p>“That’s it, Caspar,” Linhardt replied in a befuddled manner. “I’ve never caught anything before.”</p><p>“YOU WHAT!?” Caspar shouted out loud, earning him a glare from Hubert and Edelgard, who were going over some secretive documents before class started. “You mean to tell me that all this time, with you fishing almost every day we’ve been here at the academy, you haven’t caught a single fish?” He wrapped his arm around Linhardt’s shoulders. “Man, and I thought <em> I </em> sucked at fishing.”</p><p>Linhardt ducked his head down on his desk beside the basket of fish, letting Caspar’s arm slide over his head. “You do suck at fishing,” he retorted in a deadpan manner.</p><p>“Hey, at least I caught that minnow that one time,” Caspar answered back.</p><p>“Yes,” Linhardt started. “But you at least try. Think about it, Caspar. A chance to lie there, barely holding onto a pole, with no one disturbing you.”</p><p>Caspar let out an ‘ooooh’ of understanding. “So this whole time… you’ve just been napping and not fishing,” he asked, eagerly awaiting confirmation of his deductive reasoning skills.</p><p>“Yes, and I’d like you to keep it down about that.” Linhardt exuded a long sigh.</p><p>“But how do you avoid fish pulling the rod away from you while you’re napping?”</p><p>“I don’t use bait.”</p><p>Upon having heard that, Caspar couldn’t help himself but to laugh out loud again, as he drew more ire from his house leader and her faithful companion. “Aww, man, you really do put a lot of work into planning your naps.”<br/><br/>Another sigh, “Yes. I do. And again, I’d thank you not to clue He Who Shall Not Be Named in on my napping plans.”</p><p>“Oops, sorry Lin,” Caspar apologized. And then tilted his head in thought. “But… if you’re just sleeping... and you don’t use bait…”</p><p>“Then how did I catch these fish? Yes, I’m aware of this problem,” Linhardt finished his thought for him. “I have no clue how this could have happened, to be honest.”</p><p>Caspar gave a small chuckle, “Maybe you were sleep-fishing.”</p><p>“May—be…” Linhardt closed his eyes wearily, hoping for another few minutes before class started.</p><p>Fate would intervene though.</p><p>“Linhardt,” a deep voice came from behind him. “Congratulations on your catch today.” Linhardt dragged his head up and turned, only to see Professor Byleth beaming down on him, proudly. Or, at least what Linhardt assumed was the professor’s attempt at a beaming face. There may have been a slight change of expression for once.</p><p>Byleth continued, “But please take your catch to the kitchen before class. We don’t want it bothering your classmates.”</p><p>Linhardt let out a small whine, but was saved. “Don’t worry, Prof, I’ll take it,” Caspar said as he stood up and grabbed the basket of fish. “It’ll gimme a chance to grab another quick bite maybe. Build that muscle that Raphael is helping me with.”</p><p>“Thank you, Caspar,” Byleth replied while he turned to the front of the classroom. “But again, Linhardt,” he said, placing a hand reassuringly on his student’s shoulder. “I’m proud of you. Good work fishing.” He gave a thumbs-up, in contrast to his constant stone-faced expression.</p><p>Linhardt hmmed at him, and laid his face down for another attempt at napping.</p><p>—-</p><p>For the next couple days Linhardt cycled through his favourite napping locations... Under the gazebo... Under the giant tree in the yard... In bed... In the library... Behind the fruit stalls of the market... In the locked vault he got Ashe to teach him rudimentary lock-picking skills to get into it on his own rather than constantly bribing Ashe to keep opening it for him... With the cats in that one alley in Abyss…</p><p>Until one day, in the dining hall…</p><p>“It happened again.” Linhardt dropped a sigh, dropped another basket of fish beside Caspar, and dropped himself in the seat beside him. At least today Linhardt was already in the dining hall before class, so he wouldn’t have the threat of an extra trip to deliver his alleged catch.</p><p>“You sleep-fished again,” Caspar exclaimed, pointing out the obvious.</p><p>“Yes, apparently.” Linhardt shifted a little to find a more comfortable position. “There I was, rod in hand, bait off hook, sleeping peacefully. Then, I woke up, and this—,” he gestured somewhat disdainfully at the basket he’d set down, “— was just… there.”</p><p>“Huh…” Caspar started to ponder aloud, the thought going nowhere. “So you just go for a nap on the docks, and wake up with fish.”</p><p>“Thank you for reiterating what I just said, yes,” Linhardt curtly replied.</p><p>“Maaaybe… maybe it has something to do with your crest!” Caspar slammed his fists on the table, earning a few curious looks from those around.</p><p>“You’re hypothesizing that the Crest of Cethleann is somehow granting me the ability to fish in my sleep,” came the monotone yet incredulous reply.</p><p>“Uh… well… do <em> you </em> have any better ideas?”</p><p>Linhardt let loose a somewhat frustrated sigh, “No, I don’t. I don’t have <em> any </em> ideas. Though to be quite honest, I don’t really care.”</p><p>Casper leaned in over his hunched down friend to get a closer look at the basket. “Oh, hey, you even caught a queen loach. Those are pretty hard to catch, I’ve heard.”</p><p>“Oh?” Linhardt asked, vaguely disinterested in the specifics of his catch.</p><p>“Yeah. I don’t think Ashe’s ever caught one before. Raph said he did though, but only the once.” His face scrunched up a little. “Maybe the professor, too,” Caspar asked more than stated.</p><p>“Indeed I have,” came a low voice from behind them. Again.</p><p>“Gah!” Caspar fell back in his seat, his head and back smacking the dining hall floor. “Ow, ow, ow…” he rubbed his newly bruised head.</p><p>“Hello, professor,” Linhardt greeted the man. “To what may we owe the pleasure?”</p><p>Byleth patted his student on the shoulder reassuringly. “I just wanted to congratulate you again on your catch. Good job on the loach. It seems that you are really improving lately.”</p><p>“I see,” came the lazy reply. “Well, I’m not used to such praise, but this… was nothing. Must just be my innate skill.” He wearily stood up, and grabbed ahold of the basket. “Goodbye professor, Caspar.” Turning his head down towards Caspar— who was still nursing his bump on the floor— he continued, “I guess I’ll hand these in and then go for my pre-lesson nap. See you in the classroom.”</p><p>Caspar watched his friend head off to deliver his fish, and could’ve sworn he’d heard a contented sigh from his professor before Byleth walked away himself to go prepare the afternoon’s lesson.</p><p>—-</p><p>Another cycle of napping locations later…</p><p>It was Linhardt’s least favourite day: Training Day.</p><p>So, of course, he let himself sleep in from his mid-noon nap a little longer than usual. <em> It wouldn’t hurt if I missed warm-ups </em> , he consoled himself. <em> Not like I’ll be doing much training today anyway </em>.</p><p>He felt the cool breeze drifting over the pond, and lost himself again in the calming, lapping sounds of the rippling water. Taking a deep breath in, he also noticed the somewhat pungent aroma beside him. Pushing himself up with his elbows to a seated position, he looked to his side.</p><p><em> Of course. </em> A basket of fish.</p><p><em> Huh. Well, that wasn’t there when I went to sleep </em> , Linhardt thought to himself. When this first fishy experience started, he really thought that Caspar’s hypothesis of ‘sleep fishing’ was patently ridiculous, but here it was again. <em> Maybe there </em> is <em> some possible basis for that theory after all </em> , he considered. <em> But that can be for another day… I really ought to get to the training grounds before I get saddled with a week of chores again </em>. The all-too recent memory of losing a week of naps by being forced into the almost inhumane punishment of cleaning the stables with Ferdinand was enough of a motivator.</p><p>But first, he did have to turn in his apparent sleep-catch.</p><p>Grabbing his basket, he slowly plodded his way up the stairs to the now mostly-empty dining hall. Only a few random knights were scattered about eating their meals, class already in session.</p><p>“Here. Fish.” Linhardt thrust the basket towards one of the cooks.</p><p>“Ah, let’s see here,” the older lady inspected the catch. “Ah!”<br/><br/>“Ah?”</p><p>“Ah, indeed, young man. Good on you for catching this bullhead, it’ll make a fine stew” she started, waving some large fish at Linhardt. “I don’t see many students able to reel this one in.”</p><p>“Oh,” he expressionlessly replied. “I’ll be off then. Goodbye.” Linhardt left the basket of fish and uneagerly sauntered his way towards the training ground. And mustered all the energy he had to push open the large entrance doors.</p><p>“Thank you for joining us, Linhardt,” Byleth brusquely greeted his tardy student. The rest of the class was already paired off, finishing off their pre-sparring warm-ups. “Caspar,” the professor called, “can you come pair off with Linhardt?”</p><p>“Sure thing, prof,” exclaimed Caspar. He gave a quick nod to his warm-up partners Petra and Ferdinand, and jogged up to Linhardt, a light gleam of sweat already on his brow.</p><p>“Warm up quickly, please,” Byleth started. “Caspar, today can you assist Linhardt with basic hand-to-hand self defence? Daggers, short swords, and so on. Are we clear?”</p><p>“Yes, sir,” Caspar boasted.</p><p>“Quite,” Linhardt sighed, less enthused.</p><p>Just as he was walking away to watch over some of the other students, Byleth turned back. “Oh, Linhardt,” he began. Linhardt began to fear for the worst; another week of punishments. “Congratulations on the bullhead.” He turned away, and headed towards a slacking Dorothea and a cowering Bernadetta, neither of whom were clearly not into today’s training either.</p><p>“Huh,” Casper started to ask, leaning close into Linhardt. “More sleep fishing?”<br/><br/>Linhardt didn’t respond. He just stared above Caspar, at the back of the professor as he walked away.</p><p>“Uhh… hello? Lin?” Caspar tried to get the attention of his friend, waving his hands in his face. “Linny? Lin-Lin?”</p><p>“Yes…” Linhardt let out under his breath, a small smile coming to his face. “More… sleep fishing…”</p><p>—-</p><p>The very next day…</p><p><em> Oh, that’s unusual… </em> a certain individual thought to himself as he left the back doors of the dining hall, books under one arm, tasty baked treats in the other. He had wanted to take a quick trip to the greenhouse to check on his plants before the afternoon’s lessons were to start, but was caught off-guard by the sight of a certain green-haired boy over on the dock. <em> Trying to fish two days in a row… what spirit… what fortitude… </em> A tear almost came to their eyes.</p><p>The man gingerly approached Linhardt, who was casually resting— some might call it ‘lying down’—, holding his fishing rod in one hand, and covering his eyes with his other arm. <em> Yes, the sun is bright today. Good on him for trying to get a better view of his float. </em>Linhardt most certainly wasn’t sleeping, no, he told himself. Linhardt was just... being incredibly still so as not to disturb any of the fish that he was trying to catch.</p><p><em> Let’s see here, </em> he wondered, <em> has he been able to catch anything today? </em> He leaned over the boy and looked at the basket. Empty. Again. As always.</p><p><em> One day you’ll catch something </em>, he sighed, a small gleam forming in his eyes.</p><p>He took a rod from the collection available on the dock, and opened the tackle box he’d left amongst the fishkeeper’s wares for convenient access. He carefully took some bait, hooked it to a fishing float, and cast away. Only a few minutes later, a tug.</p><p>
  <em> Yes. </em>
</p><p>He reeled in his catch. Briefly admiring his work, he unhooked the fish. He crouched down to place the freshly-caught fish in Linhardt’s bucket, only for a hand to suddenly grab his wrist.</p><p>“Hello,” Linhardt looked up at him, “... Professor.” Byleth averted his gaze.</p><p>“Uhh. Hello, Linhardt…”</p><p>Linhardt cocked his head to the side slightly, pushing himself up into a seated position. “So, Professor… Why exactly have you been giving me all of this fish…?” Byleth felt Linhardt was trying to examine his mind with his eyes. He felt a mild rush, and heat forming on his face. Had he had one, his heartbeat would probably be pounding.</p><p>“I… I just saw you trying so hard to fish, but you never caught anything,” Byleth started to explain. “Trying so hard that it kept exhausting you, and I… I wanted you to feel like you were contributing.”</p><p>Linhardt started to smile. That smile broke into a laugh. Byleth stood there, confused, feeling embarrassed yet pleased at the same time.</p><p>“Oh, Professor… You shouldn’t have.” Linhardt reeled in his own fishing line. “Look,” he pointed to the lure-less float.</p><p>A look of confusion slowly turned into a look of realization.</p><p>“Now, Professor,” Linhardt continued. “While I do appreciate your concern for me, there really is no need. I’m just happy to have some time to sleep, and enjoy the sounds of the pond.” He gave an almost begging look, “And… I would hope that you can keep this secret among just us? You know how I need my naps.”</p><p>“Ah,” slowly exhaled Byleth, fully getting the hint. He went to put away the rod and his tackle box, but felt a light tug on his cape. Linhardt lay back down on the dock, but with his hand he patted the space beside him.</p><p>“And besides, who’s ever heard of ‘sleep fishing,’” Linhardt asked. “But… if you wanted to keep fishing for me, please do. Don’t you find it just ever so relaxing?”</p><p>Byleth set his tackle box on the ground, and sat beside Linhardt’s head. As he cast his next line, Linhardt pulled his head up to rest in his lap.</p><p>“Comfortable, isn’t it.”</p><p>“Yes,” Byleth agreed.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Originally inspired by Twitter conversation with Chan - https://twitter.com/AWDEKO/status/1274207268116955138 (Go check out their amazing Byhardt work!)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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